WHEREAS a School Site Acquisition Charge under the Local Government Act is imposed under subsection 1 for the purpose of providing funds to assist boards of education to pay the capital costs of meeting eligible school site requirements in growing school districts; AND WHEREAS Boards of Education provide education facilities to aboriginal and non-aboriginal residents residing on First Nation lands yet land developments on First Nation lands are not subject to the School Site Acquisition Charge therefore creating an unequal playing field: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and the Ministry of Education to establish a fair and equitable provincial system to collect funding for School Site Acquisition Charges or equivalent charges from new developments on First Nation lands should local Boards of Education impose this charge on neighbouring municipalities.
Ministry of Education The Province does not have the authority to establish a system for the collection of School Site Acquisition Charges from new residential developments on First Nation lands in situations where a board of education has implemented School Site Acquisition Charges for its school district. The Constitution of Canada and case law provide that First Nations lands cannot be subjected to provincial or local government laws related to development cost charges and other similar charges, such as School Site Acquisition Charges.